Houston Texans linebackers coach Reggie Herring during an NFL football training camp practice Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (David J. Phillip)
Long before the Bears get around to the NFL draft, they will have to decide what participation, if any, they will have in NFL free agency, which will begin on March 11.
On offense, they have to decide whether to retain backup quarterbacks Josh McCown and Jordan Palmer, and starting center Roberto Garza.
On defense, Henry Melton, Corey Wootton, Nate Collins, D.J. Williams, James Anderson, Major Wright and Charles Tillman will all be free agents, as will punt and kickoff returner Devin Hester.
It appears the Bears will attempt to keep McCown, but if another team is willing to offer him any more than $2.5 to $3 million a year on a multi-year deal, the Bears will probably allow him to walk and stick with Palmer. It is highly unlikely both will be back.
Wootton is the only other one of their own free agents they will make a priority to retain, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Williams back too.
They will then have one more decision to make before they plunge into the free agent marketplace. Are the Bears going to stick with the Tampa 2, one-gap defense, or will they switch to more of a base 4-3 two-gap defense or the 3-4?
Many are assuming the addition of Paul Pasqualoni as defensive line coach and Reggie Herring as linebackers coach, according to The Score and FoxSports1's Alex Marvez, could signal a switch to the 3-4 because both have significant experience in that scheme. But both are also more than capable of coaching in the 4-3. So that speculation may be premature.
Whatever scheme the Bears decide on, they are going to need at least one more starter at defensive end, at least one at tackle and probably one at linebacker, one cornerback and at least one or possibly two new safeties.
They are not going to find five to seven new starters on defense, plus a center, young quarterback and kick returner all in one draft. So some participation in free agency is a given.
Safety is a priority for the Bears and the draft crop is very thin. Jairus Byrd of the Bills, Cleveland’s T.J. Ward and Indianapolis’ Antoine Bethea are all Pro Bowl safeties and free agents.
It’s not inconceivable Ward will get a franchise tag but it’s likely all three will hit the market, as well as the 49ers' Donte Whitner, New Orleans' Malcolm Jenkins and Philadelphia’s Nate Allen. Those three should be a bit less expensive. Any of the six would be a significant upgrade over Chris Conte or Major Wright.
The problem with discussing defensive linemen is that most of the best 4-3 prospects are not good fits in a 3-4. But assuming the Bears stay with what they know, the Panthers' Greg Hardy, Bengals' Michael Johnson, Vikings' Jared Allen, Giants' Justin Tuck and Seahawks' Michael Bennett are the best 4-3 ends on the market. Hardy will likely either do a long-term deal in Carolina or be franchised.
The Bengals franchised Johnson in 2013 and it’s hard to picture them tagging him two years in a row.
As you may have heard, Bennett is Bears tight end Martellus Bennett’s brother and is having a very good postseason with the Seahawks. He did have 8 ½ sacks this season and five tackles for loss, and had nine sacks in Tampa in 2012. But he managed just six sacks total his first three years in the league and is not the double–digit sack pass-rushing threat the Bears need, desperately assuming Julius Peppers is a cap casualty.
There are plenty of 3-4 tackles and ends to pick from with the Cowboys' Jason Hatcher, Packers' B.J. Raji and Dolphins' Paul Soliai the most interesting, but really no three–technique tackles to get excited about.
If Tillman walks, Patriots' Aqib Talib and Falcons' Brent Grimes are the best corners available. But Talib is likely to stay in New England and Grimes is not an upgrade over Tillman.

DBS Writer

It appears the Bears will attempt to keep McCown, but if another team is willing to offer him any more than $2.5 to $3 million a year on a multi-year deal, the Bears will probably allow him to walk and stick with Palmer. It is highly unlikely both will be back.
Wootton is the only other one of their own free agents they will make a priority to retain, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see Williams back too.

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I find this interesting, 1 I agree about McCown, more then 2.5, hell I think 2.0 is too much, and just let him walk, he's a guy, nothing special, the system and the players around him allowed him to exceed, not vice versa.

Also considering DJ is over 30, it would go against the idea of getting younger, but he did play REALLY well before he got hurt, and he is well versed in 4-3/3-4 and multiple spots at the LB position so he is versatile.

The rest of the article is nice, but you are talking about guys that the Bears might be able to get 1 of, and that will destroy their cap. Bears aren't getting Byrd if he's going to cost 9mil, which is what he wants. I would have liked to see if some lower end guys that would be more depth/potential starters, which is what I think they'll go after...2nd-3rd teir guys like Anderson/Williams and Slauson last year.

Both assitant coaches they brought in are know 3-4 guys, and the D-Coordinator has also coached 3-4, so why in the hell would they stay with a 4-3?
It seems to me that the guys on the roster right now (not that many) do not mandate that we stay with the 4-3, and all those guys that we do have could play a role on a 3-4.

I wonder why they don't just come out and say it? We need the FA 3-4 guys to know that Chicago is an option.

DBS Writer

To be fair MD, they all also know 4-3, it's not like they've only ever done 4-3. I see the team looking at doing a hybrid.
DL: Bring back Ratliff who can do both a 3-4 and 4-3 DT, keep paea as his backup, Wootton has prove he can play inside in a 4-3 so he can be moved inside if necessary, and he can also play DE in a 3-4 or 4-3(imo) cut peppers, bring in another DE. Draft Nix or Jernigan(both could play both, and I really think Hagemans gone before 14 at this point anyways). Draft another DE in the first 4 rounds
LB: re sign DJ Williams, who can play 3-4 and 4-3 ILB and OLB. Move Briggs to inside for 1 year, draft another LB in the mid rounds
CB: gotta take a CB in the 2nd round to find one of any quality, bring back bowman and bring in another FA fr depth.
S: need to draft 2 S's in the draft AND bring in another one via FA.

Way to go out on a limb there HUB! Did you need a few of your inside sources to enlighten you on that lil nugget of wisdom, or did you come up with that one all on your own? :)

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LOL. Exactly. There's only so much you can do with a handful of draft picks.....and once you get beyond the 3rd round, there's probably not going to be any starters for day-1 anyway. Although on a long shot that can happen (Mills). We have over 20 of our own FA's unsigned too. There should be plenty of potential FA guys lining up at Halas Hall soon :)

Switching to a 3-4 defense takes the heat off of re-signing Melton this off season as he would not fit the NT role. Guess you could argue 3-4DE for Melton but not proven so once again no pressure to resign. Wont feel no heat til end of next season if at all. Next yr they will either be a genius or idiots. Interesting Dallas switched to 3-4 and they had worst statistical Defense in the league. Hopefully with all the openinngs we have and IF WE DO CHANGE TO A 3-4, we can make the transformation better than Dallas.

To be fair MD, they all also know 4-3, it's not like they've only ever done 4-3. I see the team looking at doing a hybrid.
DL: Bring back Ratliff who can do both a 3-4 and 4-3 DT, keep paea as his backup, Wootton has prove he can play inside in a 4-3 so he can be moved inside if necessary, and he can also play DE in a 3-4 or 4-3(imo) cut peppers, bring in another DE. Draft Nix or Jernigan(both could play both, and I really think Hagemans gone before 14 at this point anyways). Draft another DE in the first 4 rounds
LB: re sign DJ Williams, who can play 3-4 and 4-3 ILB and OLB. Move Briggs to inside for 1 year, draft another LB in the mid rounds
CB: gotta take a CB in the 2nd round to find one of any quality, bring back bowman and bring in another FA fr depth.
S: need to draft 2 S's in the draft AND bring in another one via FA.

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